The REC said recruiters must start demonstrating better knowledge of the market, improving candidate communication before, during and after the recruitment process, and making better use of technology to engage with candidates.
The study, Client Paradox: the changing relationship between client and agency recruiter, explored employers' current and emerging recruitment priorities, the key strengths that external recruiters are perceived to have, the areas where agencies need to enhance the value they offer and new market opportunities.
REC chief executive Kevin Green (pictured) said: "Despite taking more recruitment tasks in-house, candidate shortages in key managerial and professional areas mean employers' resourcing teams rely on the specialist expertise of recruiters to find hard to reach talent. As such, the relationships between clients and our members are becoming more complex.
"To succeed in this new environment recruiters have to up their game and offer more value to their clients. Recruiters need to be at the forefront of new sourcing approaches, able to provide market data their clients don't have access to and demonstrate how they can deliver more value and better outcomes."
